The Greatest Thieves in Corona
by Princess Sparklefists
Summary: AU Mistaken for the infamous thief Flynn Rider, Eugene Fitzherbert has been imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. An opportunity to escape presents itself in the form of an aspiring thief with a golden braid of hair. Knowing he can't return to his former life, Eugene reluctantly falls into a partnership with his rescuer.
1. Chapter 1

The Greatest Thieves in Corona

Chapter 1

Eugene Fitzherbert wondered if the real Flynn Rider could escape from the tower.

He was willing to wager that the thief could. This was the man who had stolen the lost princess's crown from underneath the noses of the royal guards, after all. If they had locked Flynn Rider up in the tower he probably would have escaped in a matter of minutes, instead of being trapped for weeks like Eugene had been.

In desperation he had ripped up the one thin, ragged blanket that he had been provided to try to fashion a rope, but it had been far too short to reach the ground. Now instead of a ragged blanket he had a ragged, knotted scarf that did even less to insulate him from the cold nights.

He had tried asking the guards who delivered his rations once a week for another blanket, but they ignored him. The only company he had was the smug face of Flynn Rider, smirking at him from where the guards had nailed the "wanted" poster to a wall.

Eugene snatched the parchment from its nail and threw it angrily, but it floated peacefully to the ground, Rider's smirk taunting him.

Eugene grumbled, reaching to grab the paper again and crumple it up.

A glint of sunlight caught his eye and he turned mid-crouch to see a golden rope hanging from the tower window.

Incredulous, Eugene could only stare at it for a moment as he processed what he was seeing. Then, with a cry, he ran for the window.

Right as his hands closed on the rope there was a squeak and then something dark swung upward to smash into his face.

* * *

A/N- So…I'm trying a thing. I had vowed to myself that I wouldn't start posting the story I've been working on until I had written the first draft of the entire thing. That way I could update regularly and be confident in the fact that I had an entire story pretty much planned out.

This is not that story.


	2. Chapter 2

The Greatest Thieves in Corona

Chapter 2

Eugene blinked blearily, trying to make sense of the world around him. His ears were ringing and his head hurt so badly his vision refused to focus. Closing his eyes against the pain, he tried to assess the situation. He was sitting in a chair, facing a window through which bright light was shining. Behind him, he thought he could hear the sound of footsteps.

After a few minutes the ringing in Eugene's ears dimmed enough to let him think. He remembered the tower. He remembered the sudden appearance of a rope, a means to escape, after weeks and weeks of imprisonment. Last of all, he remembered something painfully solid smashing into his face.

He should have been afraid, but Eugene was seriously offended.

As awful as being imprisoned for a crime he hadn't committed was, he was at least supposed to be safe! He scowled. Here he was minding his own business, paying someone else's debt to society, and he gets attacked! At least when the Royal Guards had dragged him out of his bookshop they hadn't knocked him unconscious.

Annoyance giving him a new resolve, Eugene squinted through the pain, searching the room for his attacker.

A petite girl stood by the window. The golden rope he had seen earlier was wound around her shoulder. On her other shoulder sat something small and green. She absently twirled a round…something…as she murmured to herself.

Eugene tried to move, but found his arms and legs tied tight to the chair. The chair creaked as he tugged, and the girl whirled around, brandishing what, now that it was inches from his face, Eugene recognized as a frying pan.

"So," the girl demanded, "where is it?"


	3. Chapter 3

The Greatest Thieves in Corona

Chapter 3

"I don't know," Eugene answered automatically. After countless hours of interrogation at the hands of the captain of the royal guard, the denial was practically a reflex. His brain caught up with the rest of him. "Wait-where's what?" Surely the girl didn't think he had smuggled the princess's crown into what was serving as his prison cell.

The girl gestured at the room around them.

"Where's whatever was important enough to hide in a tower," she answered, sounding as though it were obvious. "There's always something valuable in a tower."

"Ah. That'd be me." Eugene wondered bleakly who had turned him in and how much it had earned them. He scowled. Probably enough to retire to their own private island.

The girl looked skeptical as she turned away to resume her search.

The golden rope caught the sunshine as she turned and Eugene saw with a shock that jolted him out of his misery that the braid began at the nape of the girl's neck.

"Is that your hair?!"

The girl ignored him, but Eugene noticed uneasily that the small green blob on her shoulder had resolved itself into some sort of frog-and it was watching him. Its stare was decidedly unnerving. He tugged at the ropes, which he could now identify as the remains of his ripped up blanket.

The girl stooped to pick something up off the floor. She studied it for a moment before glancing back over her shoulder at Eugene.

She whispered something to the frog, which turned around on her shoulder. She held whatever it was up so that the frog could see it. After a moment of urgent hisses and gestures, she spun back around to face Eugene, and he could see that she had found his "Wanted" poster.

"You're him!" the girl exclaimed, her eyes wide.


	4. Chapter 4

The Greatest Thieves in Corona

Chapter 4

"That's what they keep telling me," Eugene muttered under his breath. "Look, Blondie. I'm not-"

"You're _Flynn Rider_." The girl didn't seem to hear him. She stared at him, her green eyes wide. The frog was looking at him again, too.

Eugene tugged at his bonds surreptitiously.

He stopped squirming as she strode over to him. Eugene was thrown off balance as the girl yanked on a loose end of the makeshift rope binding him to the chair. The chair tilted forward and she caught it easily, leaning over him.

"How'd you do it?" she whispered conspiratorially.

Eugene stared at her, dumbfounded.

Eventually she let the chair thud back onto the floor with a shrug. "All right, I get it. You can't give up your tricks of the trade to just anyone." She hooked a thumb toward herself. "I'm a thief, too. Rapunzel. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

Eugene shook his head slowly. "Can't say it rings a bell." Paying attention to thieves' reputations had never been high on his list of priorities. They had seemed to belong to an entirely different world than his.

"Oh." Rapunzel seemed to deflate a bit and Eugene actually found himself feeling a bit sorry for not knowing about her. He reminded himself firmly that she was a thief, no better than the real Flynn Rider. He had no reason to feel sorry for a thief.

Rapunzel glanced around the inside of the tower once more, taking in the bare room. "Nice hideout," she said quickly, apparently eager to change the subject. "I wouldn't have found it if not for Pascal." She gestured to the frog on her shoulder.

"Yeah, it's got a great view," Eugene drawled.


	5. Chapter 5

The Greatest Thieves in Corona

Chapter 5

"Oh?" Rapunzel glanced curiously back toward the window. "It is pretty," she agreed after a moment, "-but it seems kind of…confined. Though I guess that's kind of the point of hideouts."

_And prisons,_ Eugene added silently.

The sunlight glinted off Rapunzel's braid as she turned back to him. "Oh, sorry about that," she said, then, to Eugene's surprise, she started unknotting the makeshift ropes around his arms and legs.

When he was free Eugene stood and stretched. He raised an eyebrow at the stranger.

"Not to be, y'know, unappreciative or anything, but, out of curiosity…what makes you think it's a good idea to untie me?" After all, Flynn Rider was the most wanted criminal in the country. Trusting him would be a terrible idea, really.

The girl smiled like the answer was obvious. "You don't hurt people," she said with confidence. "It says so in all the papers."

"You shouldn't believe everything you read," Eugene replied, trying to rub the feeling back into his hands. Eugene had always preferred fiction, himself. Good triumphs over evil, they all live happily ever after, etc. It was a great escape, but it wasn't real, and he certainly didn't believe in any of it.

Then again, it couldn't hurt to learn a bit about the man who had ruined his life. His complete ignorance of the thief hadn't done him any favors. "What else do the papers say?"

Rapunzel looked surprised.

"You don't read them?"

Eugene shrugged.

"Well," Rapunzel began, "mostly they list things you've stolen. They don't really go into specifics on how you do it."

"And they say that Ri-that I don't hurt people," Eugene repeated.

"Right. Sort of. Technically they say that you haven't hurt anyone _yet_."

_Wrong on two counts_, Eugene thought crossly.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

There was an awkward stretch of silence as Eugene scowled, lost in his thoughts. He was snapped out of his contemplation by the sound of his visitor clearing her throat.

"Well, I guess I'll be going then," Rapunzel said slowly, drawing out the words. She backed a step toward the window. Her voice was nonchalant, completely different from her earlier tone. Her gaze, which had remained locked on Eugene since she had become convinced that he was Flynn Rider, scanned the room without focusing on anything.

"You know how it is. Heists to plan. Treasures to steal." She stole a glance at Eugene out of the corner of her eye. Underneath the carefree façade her scrutiny was just as intense as before.

She unhooked the end of her braid from the hook on her belt. "Sorry to intrude."

Eugene realized his best and possibly only chance at escape from the tower was about to disappear.

"Wait!" Eugene blurted out. Rapunzel turned back quickly, her eyes once again alight with excitement.

Eugene felt a sudden rush of guilt for what he was about to do, but he pushed it back. Rapunzel was a thief, and it wasn't about her, anyway. It was about the criminal she idolized. Flynn Rider had caused nothing but trouble for Eugene. He felt that the thief owed him for all that he had been put through in his stead. Now it looked like his resemblance was going to get him _out _of trouble for once.

Borrowing Rider's identity for long enough to get out of the tower couldn't compare to what the thief had done to him. There would be no inconvenience or consequences for Rider. Really, lending him his reputation would be the least that Rider could do to repay Eugene for dragging his through the mud.

Eugene plastered on the charming smile he had perfected dealing with irritating customers.


	7. Chapter 7

The Greatest Thieves in Corona

Chapter 7

"Y'know," Eugene paused for a second, trying to come up with a compliment. His experience with thieves hadn't given him much to praise. "It was really impressive how you managed to climb the tower so easily."

Rapunzel blushed and fiddled with the end of her braid.

"Oh, it was nothing, really."

"Ah, don't sell yourself short," Eugene insisted. "That was pretty good."

Wide green eyes met his. "Really?"

"Of course!" He threw an arm around her shoulders, brushing the frog off in the process, and steered her back to the window. The frog glared up at him from where he had fallen on the floor, but Eugene ignored it. "Look at that sheer drop. That would make anybody dizzy just to think about. How many thieves do you think could manage that climb all alone?"

He gestured at the lush hidden valley that held the tower.

"Would you believe that you are the first person to find this place since I've been using it?"

That wasn't technically a lie. The only other people he had seen were the guards sent to deliver his rations every week. The next delivery would be in two days. It wouldn't be a huge head start, but it would have to do.

"Pascal's really the one who found it," Rapunzel protested, but she looked pleased by his praise nonetheless. She knelt to pick up the grumpy frog.

Eugene wondered for a brief moment how exactly that had happened, but dismissed the thought. He was more worried about finding his way _out_ of the tower.

"Yeah, but you did the real work, getting the two of you up here. I'm sorry I missed it." He paused, as if just struck with an idea. "Say, do you think you could help me with something? I could really use someone with your, uh, skills."

Rapunzel's face lit up.

"You mean work together?"


	8. Chapter 8

The Greatest Thieves in Corona

Chapter 8

"Temporarily. Just a one-time thing," Eugene hurried to amend, seeing the eager look Rapunzel was giving him.

"Like a probationary period?"

"That's not exactly what I-"

Eugene realized that Rapunzel had now given up any pretense of hiding her enthusiasm. Faced with the opportunity to work alongside Flynn Rider, she was excitedly aiming questions at him.

"What kind of job? Is it a heist? Are we stealing another royal treasure?" She glanced around the tower once more, as if expecting the princess's crown to suddenly appear in the empty room.

"Not exactly," Eugene answered uneasily. He needed to use her admiration of Flynn Rider to get out of the tower, but he was worried at just how _real_ this was to the thief. "It's a bit top-secret. I can't have word of this getting out, you see…"

Rapunzel's gaze snapped back to his, suddenly solemn.

"I won't tell anyone. I promise."

She thrust a hand out for him to shake.

Eugene blinked, taken by surprise by her sudden serious demeanor.

"And when I promise something, I never ever break that promise," she added vehemently. "Ever."

Eugene tried to ignore the guilty feeling that he was the one making a promise; one he had no intention of keeping. He wasn't _really_ promising anything. Just this one temporary alliance-just long enough to escape-and then he would tell Rapunzel that this arrangement wasn't going to work out after all and they'd part as unlikely friends. He'd be free, she'd be able to say she'd met the great Flynn Rider. Everybody would come out a winner.

"All right," Eugene said uneasily, reaching out his own hand. Rapunzel grasped it with a grin.

"Partners!"


	9. Chapter 9

The Greatest Thieves in Corona

Chapter 9

Rapunzel's grasp was much firmer than Eugene would have guessed for such a slight person. He supposed it made sense, though, if she could climb the height of the tower and still have the energy she had displayed thus far. He flexed his hand.

"All right. So, _partner_, want to fill me in on…?" Eugene gestured vaguely from the crown of Rapunzel's head to the loops of braid hitched to her belt loop.

"Pascal?" She glanced at the frog she had scooped up a few minutes ago, but she was still holding him in the hand that she hadn't used in the handshake.

Rapunzel looked over her shoulder where Eugene had waved before letting out a short, slightly nervous-sounding laugh.

"Oh, that. Um, it's just my hair. You know. Grows out of my head, just like yours does."

"I don't think mine would hold my weight," he disagreed, raising an eyebrow. "Speaking of, for this to work I need to know how much weight can your hair hold?" He glanced out the window. He didn't know how long the thief had been in the tower, but they really needed to hurry this up. The sooner he was out the farther away he could get before anyone noticed he was gone.

"Oh, it's really strong," she assured him. "I've never even snapped a strand."

"Great, great. Do you think it could hold, say, my weight?"

Rapunzel suddenly looked uncertain. "I've never actually lifted another person with it…"

"Oh." Eugene's voice sounded dull, even to his own ears.

"But I'm sure I can handle it." The look of steely determination was back in Rapunzel's eyes.

"No offense, but that's not really something I'd want to just take your word for."

"A demonstration, then," Rapunzel said. She strode to the window decisively. "Consider it part of my probation."


End file.
